Puppet
by Thess
Summary: Integral wanted Walter back as he used to be the old kind man she had loved as a father. But she only owned a young shell of his former self – a puppet under her strings. Integral x ‘Dark’ Walter. Manga ficlet. OneShot. Gift requested by Sensoo .


Disclaimer: _Hellsing_ belongs to Kouta Hirano.

Author's Notes: Sensoo requested devious Dark Walter x Integral ficlet as a Christmas gift. Now, if you haven't read chapter 57 (Wizardry) and beyond and don't wish to get spoiled, press the back button. If you're interested, Walter looks like this now: pictures dot greatestjournal dot com/userimg/2703370/72742 (replace bot for . and remove the spaces). This is set A/U in a prusumed ending of the war. Note that so far (this month's issue) Walter hasn't spoken a word or had any facial expression, I'm basing my characterization in that. Thanks Lyanna Kane for her edition!

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**Puppet**

Each time Integral visited him was worse than the last – it hurt her to see Walter, the loyal and kind old man she had loved as a father, reduced to a blank puppet under her strings. But that had been the only way by which she had managed to stop him and keep him around. Destroying the Nazis had not released him from whatever wizardry they had done to him, and therefore she had been forced to do conjure own – Integral had sealed him and soon Hellsing had won itself another vampire subordinate in their ranks.

Far more than wanting yet another attractive undead under her command, Integral yearned to see the gentle smile of her steward as he would present her reports, inform her of situations or prepare her tea. Of all the things she had lost in war, this was one that pained her the most.

She gave a pause in front of Walter's cell, tossing her finished cigar to the floor and stepping on it before opening the door and entering. Walter was standing on the same spot where she had left him last night. There was no change in his expression – still so blank and so hollow. Integral shut the door behind her and inclined her head.

"Evening Walter," she greeted, awaiting no response. "I brought you something to eat." She offered him a package of blood. The butler did not move a finger or even as much as twitched. Narrowing her eyes, Integral placed it on the table, beside the other six bags she had been bringing on a daily basis. "You have to drink something, Walter. This can't continue. They are dead, Millennium is gone."

Nothing. Walter only stared at her with that infuriating and stoical facial feature. She gritted her teeth, advancing towards him, determinate to make him feed.

"They were destroyed! You're back, Walter!" Integral snapped, glaring at him. She felt bad to yell at Walter but she could not recognise him anymore. His eyes were like a red void - she could not even spot a glimpse of the man he used to be. "Return to me! I know you're somewhere inside that cold shell. Bloody hell, say something!" She restrained herself from punching or kicking something, and instead she focused her rage.

_Breathe and think. It's pointless to lose my head._

"Very well," Integral scolded, "I have no choice but to force you to eat. I won't allow you to die, Walter. I shouldn't have left you alone in the first place." Guilt and remorse were consuming her. Why God, why had she listened to him and complied with his wish to be left to fight the Captain? "I order you to feed, butler," she commanded frostily. "Now."

Walter moved to a speed she could not match. Integral's pupils dilated when she realised the dire situation she had placed upon herself. She should have been more specific about where to take the nourishment from. It was too late: his wires wrapped around her legs and arms, binding them together, slicing the material of her suit slightly, making her bleed. She could not utter a word either, as with his velocity the Angel of Death captured her tongue with one of his wires. If she were to move violently, Integral would lose her appendage. Her body was still, standing due to Walter's hold.

Inwardly, her heart started pounding inside her chest. Integral felt stripped of her power, felt so much the fool. How could she have been so blind as not to anticipate this?

Bracing herself, Integral saw Walter approaching. She suppressed the urge to struggle and commanded her system to relax instead. He scrutinized her with his empty gaze before bending down, sensuously licking her wounds with his tongue. _God,_ Integral craved to swallow as her former steward nibbled the crook of her arm.

Shivers shot through her spine, shivers induced by the edge of his icy tongue over her warm skin. And Integral was uncertain if it was because it made her cold that her cheeks started to gain heat. _This is Walter, for God's sake!_ But it was not; he was not old and fatherly anymore. Walter was dangerous, young and darkly handsome. She gasped when he dropped to his knees, lapping at the wounds on her heels, his arms snaking around her rear to hold her in place.

In a flash of a moment, the wires were gone, returning to their user. Walter stood facing her, no trace of emotion in his face. Integral panted, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the remains of her right sleeve. That had been awfully close for her comfort. Her tongue was damaged – Integral could taste the blood inside her mouth.

"When I ordered you to feed, Walter, I didn't mea-" she could not elaborate the lecture further, since Walter's lips descended over hers, forcing them apart, sliding his tongue inside her mouth. He sucked the on blood from the insides of her mouth, cold appendage invading her pleasant warmth. Integral struggled first, ignoring how good that felt – the tiny goosebumps and how the hair behind her head would rise. When the injuries were gone, Walter pulled away, walking back to his former post.

Integral looked at him, inhaling deeply – it appeared as if he had not moved at all. "In the future, I'll wisely suggest you to drink the blood inside the plastic package, not the flesh one," she hissed, unable to control her indignation, to then walk out of his chambers. Was it just her imagination or had Walter actually pursed up his lips in an almost smile?

_It can't be_, Integral mused, walking through the dark corridors of her basement. _I must be seeing things,_ she reassured, shrugging the issue. Though deep inside, she wondered:

Who really was the puppet under the Master's strings?


End file.
